Paris Saint-Germain carried all before them domestically last season, but much has changed at the Parc des Princes and their Ligue 1 title odds of 7/50 are begging to be opposed.
Former boss Laurent Blanc had arrived steeped in Ligue 1 nous, having previously landed the title with Auxerre as a player and Bordeaux from the dugout.
Meanwhile, Zlatan Ibrahimovic either scored or assisted over half their goals in the division (58) last term.
So far les Parisiens’ response to these setbacks has been unconvincing – having prevailed in their first two league games, they are now winless in two, losing 3-1 to Monaco and drawing with Saint Etienne.
New manager Unai Emery has walked in to a dressing room power vacuum created by Ibrahimovic leaving and promptly set about making it clear that other players that were near untouchable under Blanc, such as Blaise Matuidi, Thiago Silva and Thiago Motta, are no longer guaranteed a starting place.
Matuidi has made little secret of the fact that he wanted to leave the club this summer, while David Luiz, another big personality within the collective, returned to Chelsea on deadline day.
Edinson Cavani, finally getting the chance to play in his preferred number nine role, has yet to respond in the manner of a tiger just released from his cage, notching just once in three appearances.
Emery’s attempts to change the dynamic of the side may well bear fruit in time, but the fact remains that, despite his success in the continent’s second tier competition, he has never come close to steering a team to league title glory.
Having lost their manager and talisman and replaced neither with men of commensurate stature, PSG will be a lot less dominant on the home front this term, but which of the chasing pack is most likely to dethrone them?
Olympique Lyonnais are second in the Ligue 1 outright betting odds of 8/1 and they have a formidable striker in Alexandre Lacazette, already six goals deep for the season after three games.
However, they too have a manager in Bruno Genesio, who has yet to helm a club to a league title. In fact, the Les Gones job is his first such role within the game.
At 10/1, recent PSG-conquerors Monaco look the best value to pip the champions to the post.
Not only have they beaten Emery’s men on the last two occasions the sides have met and lost just twice to them in eight clashes since returning to the top flight in 2013, but they have a manager with experience of winning titles.
Ok, so technically Leonardo Jardim’s sole league win came with Beira Mar in the Portuguese second tier, but he was also sacked by Olympiacos when the club were ten point clear in the Greek Super League in 2012/13.
Sitting top of the table after three games with one of the hardest of the season already out of the way in pleasing fashion, they have thrown down the gauntlet.
